Fence.



No. 758,046. PATEN'I'BD APR. 26, 1.904.

G. BRONSuON.

FENCE. APPLICATION FILED IL B.. 1l, 1903.

Patented April 26, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE BRONSON, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 758,046, dated April26, 1904.

Application let. March 11, 1903.

To all whom t may concern.:

Be it known that I, GEORGE BRoNsoN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of Washington, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Fences, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in fences; and itsobject, among other things, is to employ a strong and inexpensive postformed of a single piece of metal and provided with means whereby therails may be held spaced apart and prevented from becoming accidentallydisplaced.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in thenovel construetion and combination of parts hereinafter more fullydescribed and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying' drawings,showing the preferred form of my invention, in which- Figure 1 is anelevation of a fence constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2is a detail view of a post detached. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectionthrough the post on the line fr a' of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail view ofone of the corner-posts, and Fig. 5 is a sectional plan view of thecorner-post and rails.

Referring to the figures by numerals of reference, l is a fiat steelpost of suitable length having a broad base 2 and a head 3 of suitableform. The post is provided on opposite sides withlongitudinally-extending ribs 4, one of which is provided with a seriesof apertures 5, extending transversely therethrough at suitabledistances apart. These apertures communicate with slots 6, extendinginward from the outer edge of the rib, and are adapted to receive theends of a plurality of rails 7 of suitable construction. These rails ontheir obverse sides are each provided with a longitudinally-extendingrib and upon their reverse sides with a corresponding groove, which isAadapted to receive the rib of that portion of the adjacent rail whichunderlaps it, whereby the rails are held against lateral movement withrespect to each other. The ends of these rails are preferably providedwith apertures, preferably two in number, which are equal distancesapart and are adapted when the rails Serial No. 147,247. (No model.)

are in position to lie at opposite sides of the rib 4 through which saidrails project. Bolts 8 are then passed through the apertures in theoverlapping ends of the rails and are secured in position by means ofnuts 9, which also serve to prevent longitudinal movement of the railsby engaging either side of the apertured ribs 4.

When the parts herein referred to have been assembled as described, itwill be seen that a continuous and practically solid fence is obtained.y

The corner-posts to be used with this fence are substantially similar tothe posts above described. These posts, as shown in Fig. 4, areprovided, in addition to the slotted ribs 4,with apertures 10,formedwithin one edge of the post. These apertures lO are at a greaterdistance laterally from the longitudinal center of the post than are theapertures 5, so that the ends of the rails projecting through theapertures 5 abut the ends of the rails projecting through the aperturesl0, and thereby are prevented from longitudinal movement in onedirection, a bolt and nut 8 9 or other suitable fastening meanspreventing longitudinal movement in the opposite direction. ,Bymeans ofthis arrangement it will be seen that the rails extending in the twodirections at the corner of the fence can be securely held in positionas hereinbefore described in connection with the posts l.

In the foregoing description I have shown the preferred form of myinvention; but I do not Wish to limit myself thereto, as I am aware thatmodifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit orsacrificing the advantages thereof, and I therefore reserve the right tomake such changes as fairly fall within the scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I therefore claim as new,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a fence, the combination with a post, the ribs provided withapertures, which apertures in one rib are located at a greater distancefrom the longitudinal center of the post than are the apertures in theadjoining rib, rails received in the apertures, fasteningmeans securedon the end of the rail protruding IOO through the aperture to preventmovement in one direction the ends of adjoining rails abutting eachother to prevent movement thereof in the opposite direction.

2. In a fence, the combination with a post provided with apertures andinwardly-extending slots Communicating With the apertures, of a seriesof ribbed rails, the adjacent ends of which overlap and are received inthe apertures in the post, the rails being of larger area than the areaof the slots, the ribs of the outermost rails received and itting in theslots, and means for securing the adjacent ends of the rails togetherand also against longitudinal movement.

In a fence, the combination with a post provided With apertures andinwardly-extending slots communicating therewith, of a plurality ofribbed and grooved rails, the adjacent ends of Which overlap and arereceived in and protrude through the apertures in the post, the ribs ofthe underlapping rails reeeived and fitting in the groovesin theoverlapping rails and means for securing the rails against longitudinalmovement.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

GEORGE BRONSON.

